vivin girls are great, star! i used to play kickball with them way back when. you should check out cause co-motion too, it's a band full of dudes but they're all friends and share a similar sound.

thirties, that low album is heartbreaking! "long way around the sea" can make me weeeeeep.

my vacation involved a lot of getting stoned and sharing music with my best college girlfriend and her boyfriend, they both have amazing taste. i introduced them to hercules & love affair, david byrne & brian eno's new album, & m83, while they turned me onto krautrock like la dusseldorf and harmonia, and an amazing brazilian new wave band called fellini.

i'm also really into the clientele ep that came out in august. "george says he has lost his way in this world" is my favorite song right now. i love the clientele so much.

Currently grooving out in a mellow way to Low. I was listening to their limited edition 1999 xmas album (just called "Christmas") while wrapping presents, and it put me in the mood for more of their stuff.

Dinosaur Act from their fifth album, Things We Lost in the Fire (clips of the band on tour, w/ Alan and Mimi's one year old daughter).

New Neko Case album, Middle Cyclone, out in March '09. This is a preview video of Neko talking about the new album, how and where it was recorded, and some of the songs. She says some great stuff, and the music sounds great. ...Extra frogs...hee hee! I can't wait.

I just saw her play in September here in Tucson and she played several of the songs from the new album. It was amazing and I can't wait!

New Neko Case album, Middle Cyclone, out in March '09. This is a preview video of Neko talking about the new album, how and where it was recorded, and some of the songs. She says some great stuff, and the music sounds great. ...Extra frogs...hee hee! I can't wait.

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I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. -Mae West

My brother introduced me to Steve Arrington's music, and I really dig it. He was a funk/soul singer from he late 70's and early 80's, and played/sang with a group called Slave. I heard his music in a jazz club a few weeks ago, and my brother told me about him, and his music just had such joy to it that made me happy. He quit music to become a minister, but left behind some classic tracks, like Feel so Real.

For fans of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, check out Gallon Drunk. Main Drunkman James Johnston has played guitar with the Bad Seeds (most notably on Murder Ballads). The Drunk have been around since the early '90s, but just released their newest album, Rotten Mile, from which the above video was taken, at the end of last year. It's the best thing they've done since their early days, like a big juicy burger with pickles, ketchup, mustard and a mess of greasy fries. I wish they'd tour the U.S., but after opening briefly for Morrissey in New York around '93 or '94 (Morrissey's audience had no idea what to make of them), they fled back the U.K. and continued doing what they do best. All their albums, You, The Night & the Music, Tonight...the Singles Bar (a singles/EPs collection), From the Heart of Town (their most popular album, the one that got them on tour with Morrissey), In the Long, Still Night, and Fire Music have been reissued with extra tracks, live material and b-sides. I've been in lust with James Johnston for years, but he's happily married to former Stereolab contributor Geraldine Swayne. Ah, well. Just my luck.

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I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. -Mae West

DOODS! If you love the music, call KEXP! 2069035397. I have dropped $350 bones today in the favour of the propagation of good music. MONEY WELL SPENT. I coulda bought shoes, but I gave to my peeps instead. KEXP is pure, they are LOVE. They are people that really appreciate good trax!

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"You're cute, like a velvet glove cast in iron. And like a gas chamber, a real fun gal."

I agree TV on the Radio is just fucking amazing. The new album "Dear Science" is soooo good. I would love to go see them but they are playing in Cincinnati and that's just too far to drive. A guy at work actually met them when they played in Columbus last time and said the band was very nice.

I have one ep by TV on the Radio which took a little while to grow on me, and I recently bought Cookie Mountain, but haven't listened to it yet. I know I need to catch up with them, but I'm slow on the uptake. Isn't the singer guy in the new indie movie with Anne Hathaway? ...Oh, wait. AP just said that. Duh.

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I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. -Mae West